[Effects of a Kampo medicine on postoperative infection].

We studied the effects of preoperative administration of Hochuekkito (TJ-41) on the host response of patients undergoing gastrectomy or colectomy in a prospective, randomized, multicenter clinical trial. Forty-eight patients were randomized into two groups: one received 7.5 g/day of TJ-41 for 7 days before surgery (n = 22); and the other served as the control group (n = 26). The body temperature and pulse rate in patients in the TJ41 group were significantly better controlled during the study compared with those in the control group. The concentration of serum cortisol on the first postoperative day in the TJ-41 group was also significantly lower compared with that in the control group. These results clearly indicate that the preoperative administration of TJ-41 may ameliorate an excessive postoperative inflammatory response and prolonged immunosuppressed state, resulting in fewer postoperative infectious complications.